Learning from a Smile
Meet Massimo! While Massimo landed in the clinical trials field by chance, it was BeiGene’s mission to make medicines more accessible and affordable to more patients that made him certain he’d stay.
Massimo grew up in Milan, Italy, and now resides in Sydney, Australia. At times, Massimo misses the unique spirit of Milan, he says, but was happy to leave his home country after earning his degree to seek new adventures and challenges. Now, Massimo is honored to call Australia his home. He became an Australian citizen in 2016.
Massimo’s love for travel introduced him to people from various walks of life and helped him develop a deep appreciation for diverse backgrounds. Those experiences, along with values instilled by his parents – such as respect – are evident in both his professional and personal life.
“Mutual respect is the basis of every relationship, whether it’s personal or business,” Massimo says. “Respect people around you, who they are, their ideas, and their differences. As a result, people will respect you back and genuinely put their trust in you.”
*Massimo enjoys face painting with his daughter, Giorgia.
At BeiGene, Massimo works as associate director of GCP Clinical Quality Assurance to make the company’s innovative medicines more accessible to people who need them. For Massimo, the company’s mission brings to mind an eye-opening trip he took to Vietnam that included a lesson in diverse experiences. While visiting, Massimo and his wife hired a local guide to take them through the hills. They enjoyed lunch at the guide’s house with her family, including the guide’s grandparents and her 2 1/2-year-old son.
“It was a beautiful life experience,” Massimo says. “They had very little in terms of material things, but I remember the boy being very happy just playing with a little cardboard box. His smile is fixed in my heart; it really puts a lot of things into perspective. True happiness doesn’t come from the things we own, it’s derived from appreciating everything we have—especially the people we love and our wellbeing.”
That smile and the value of respect are what Massimo carries with him every day at BeiGene, constantly learning and innovating to improve people’s lives in the fight against cancer.
*Massimo and his son, Andrea, take in the view on a trip to Fiji.
